Hyuugas and Dolls
by shrieking minties 51
Summary: After a battle gone wrong with Sound village, Kankuro- who is badly injured- and Hinata are trapped- with no way to contact their companions. Expecting to die, they confide in one another what they never thought to tell another soul. KankuroxHinata
1. Chapter 1

Summary: After a battle gone wrong with Sound village, Kankuro- who is badly injured- and Hinata are trapped in a cave with no

**Disclaimer:**** HAH! You're funny! In case you haven't noticed: this site is called ; not **

**AN:**** Uhh… stupid, (repeat: STUPID) experimental fic that may or may not be completed depending on the reaction I get review-wise. Yes. It's het. (you're all thinking- SOMEBODY PINCH ME!!- well, pinches there you go. I. Like. Het. Now excuse me while the yaoi mistress chops off her own fingers for even writing that.)**

**Yeah… I don't like this… but I thought: 'the hell with it. I'll annoy people by posting this hunk of junk anyway'. **

The earth smelled like rain, quietly, subtly refreshing. Like the taste of his blood, he could faintly detect the metallic element to the ground. He could taste his own blood now.

He didn't want to.

That didn't really change anything, though.

Small hands shook his shoulder gently; the touch was in stark contrast to the not-so-gentle environment they were in (bodies crashing around, explosives going off, blood spraying your own motionless, bleeding form on the occasion a colleague- and quite possibly a friend- ended up dying a little too close to you for comfort). 'Wake up, p-please?' how could one sound so timid in a time of war? The small hands became more insistent and he let out a faint moan, half in protest, half in acknowledge that he'd heard her. 'Can you open your eyes?' he tried that- several times before getting it right- as the light flooded back to his pupils reality came crashing back into his brain. Funny: he was sure that something was hurting him real bad. He just couldn't really tell what- or why. He'd been here once before- oh, he must be dying… He stared absently up; magnificent, lilac eyes filled his vision, eyes that held a quiet fierceness so beautiful that he was suddenly quite sure that this stranger wasn't going to let him die without a good fight. 'C-can you hear me?' Maybe he should nod, or make some sort of sound. It was strange; last time he had been like this, death had seemed so easy…

'Unghhhhh…'

'O-okay, I will help you, just-just stay with me, please?' she brushed a strand of hair behind her head, her hands- and now her bare forehead- were smeared with blood- surely not his? He couldn't have dirtied such pretty hands so…

He looked down…

Ah, there was the pain!

… and fainted.

He heard a lovely, soft and sweet voice and he thought he must already be dead. 'It- It looks like you'll be okay; then, I've stopped the bleeding.' Oh, she wasn't an angel? He wondered vaguely how she could stand such gore, why they weren't being bombed or attacked from behind or- or only the gods know what- this was war dammit! They weren't the only ones left, surely? 'We are in hiding. I saw you fall and thought-' she paused a moment, as if she wasn't too sure what she thought- then shrugged it off.

He tried to sit up, but those gentle hands pushed his shoulders back down 'I am not as gifted at putting people back together as Sakura. P-please lie still for a while.' And there it was- that quiet fierceness again, he wondered if he imagined the strength that lurked just behind the timid expression and quiet voice. 'You need to eat.' She pushed a food pill to his mouth, he groaned and turned away. Not after the state he had seen his stomach in, no thanks. He settled for trying to figure out who the hell she was. Lilac eyes, huh? Wasn't that a Hyuuga trait? Dark hair, dark blush… he'd seen her before… fuck! He couldn't just say Hyuuga. What was her name?

'H-hinata…?' he asked warily.

She jumped suddenly, as though burnt, staring him in the eyes with her own before turning away and turning a spectacular shad of red. 'Y-yes. And you are Kankuro?' Kankuro didn't really care who he was right then, his stomach felt like it was on fire.

'What-'

'There is a gash, about five inches long on your stomach… I am sorry I couldn't do much about the size of it. There will be a nasty scar…' Hinata Hyuuga, the girl who had just dragged his body from the midst of a fierce battle and saved his life- had apologized because he had another impressive scar to add to his collection…

'That's… really fine.' He mumbled. 'Are you hurt, at all?'

She blushed at the simple question, embarrassed at his concern. 'No- nothing, really. I'm fine.'

His head was starting to hurt, too. 'How long was I-'

'about an hour.'

'Where-' he shifted up onto his elbows despite what she had told him.

'You see, that's the thing.' She said suddenly, gazing at something in front of her -as if she could try and discern where they were by simply staring at it- the something was what Kankuro identified to be a rather big wall; 'I'm not too sure of that… it- it's dark, but it's warm. There is food and water and shelter and no one around. But I have no idea why or where this is. If we were anywhere near the battle scene, well, there'd be plenty of us taking refuge in here. It's the perfect spot, but I don't know… it's just… here- but… not here and I don't know… I just ran here… Which is kind of stupid, I mean- ninja are supposed to know where they are at all times- and we could be at the South Pole for all I know… I've never been very good at remembering all the thing's I'm supposed to do- Neji is- but not me…'

Now his head really hurt. He stared at her.

'I'm- I'm rambling- aren't I? …' she said, shy once more…

'You are.' He said simply, briefly confused, just a moment ago; she had been prattling on about gods know what- two seconds later and she seemed to snap back to reality. Kankuro pondered this for a while in the awkward silence that fell, then raised a shaky arm to prod her, 'you sure you're not hurt?' he grunted.

'A-a-a few cuts and b-bruises. N-nothing serious. Th-thank you for your concern Kankuro' She bowed her head.

''kuro.'

'sorry?'

'Just call me 'kuro. It's shorter- it's what my friends call me, sometimes (or Temari when she wants something).' She looked at him nervously, 'You saved my life, dammit. Just call me 'kuro.'

She looked him in the eyes again, and there it was; that fierceness, that hidden _something_ in her gaze 'o-okay…'

'Do you need me for anything right now?'

She smiled knowingly; reaching out a tentative hand to push him back down onto a makeshift pillow (her jacket, he guessed) 'rest. I will look out for you.'

He couldn't decide whether to feel content or insulted. He could take care of himself thank you very much… but not right now… it was too- too…

'K-k-kankuro? Are you awake?'

'muhhh…?' she giggled, it was a pretty sound.

'You really should eat something now.' Those tiny hands could be persistent, especially when they were gently playing across his stomach. Kankuro found his poor, perverted mind in a far different place from wherever the hell they were; imagining all the other things those hands could be doing… ow… OW!

Prodding his wounds wasn't one of them!

'It's looking better.' She said softly.

'That hurt'

'I-I-I'm sorry!' he felt her shrink away. She was so timid!

'No, no. it's fine, I'm just- just sayin'-… hey, have you figured out where we are yet?'

'No. But I sent out a distress signal. I haven't had a response yet. But- but that doesn't mean too much. Now- will- will you please eat? Please. You need to.'

Kankuro wasn't sure how he was supposed to say no to that sweet, pleading tone. 'Fine.' He mumbled, sitting up slowly and wincing at the pain in his gut. 'How did you end up near me anyway?'

'In the battle? You- you were backing up Kiba-kun and Akamaru. A sound shinobi-'

Oh, that's right… sound. An average sized group composed of Suna and Konoha ninja had been sent to take out what they were told was a small band of sound ninja. The group had consisted of himself, Temari and a few nondescript chuunin from Suna, Hinata and her team, Neji and his team, Naruto, Shikamaru and Sakura. Just enough of them to take out twenty-or-so members of sound and maybe- if they found him- kick Sasuke's ass and drag him back to Konoha. Damn shame there was a whole lot more than twenty to contend with (and not one Sasuke amongst them, either) Kankuro remembered with a frown, some eighty or ninety sound brats had literally swamped the group. Then-

'Then what?'

'The sound ninja: one attacked you from behind, and… did that do you… and you blacked out and nearly fell into the crevasse behind you… I- I stopped that from happening and then I couldn't see anyone; I heard Shikamaru yell "retreat" and I ran for it.'

'How far?'

'I don't know… um… about half an hour flat- out… a bit impractical, I guess… but I wasn't sure how far I should go…'

'You carried ME for half an hour?' she nodded, 'wow. You're stronger than you look, Hinata.' Silence greeted this statement, 'seriously, I underestimated you.'

She turned a ludicrous shade of red, 'people tend to do that.' She mumbled. Then pushed a water bottle to his lips and held it there with a little more force than necessary- if he didn't know any better, he'd swear she was trying to shut him up…

**There you go: if you want an update… review… please. I will give you pancakes and cookies and- if you so wish- cyber sex (kidding…). Because if I don't get a good reaction I won't bother finishing this…**

**If anyone has any technical tips PLEASE let me know. This is the first decent go I've had at a multi-chapter that isn't entirely crack-orientated.**


	2. Confidence

AN: don't misinterpret this chapter: Hinata didn't miraculously get over her Naruto Complex that quickly; she has feelings for

**AN: don't misinterpret this chapter: Hinata didn't miraculously get over her Naruto Complex that quickly; she has feelings for Kankuro in this, but not FEELINGS as such, just feelings. It may seem like she's doing the creepy-stalker thing to him, but I assure you; that's just my crap writing, she's simply observing him. **

**She's also (hopefully not too badly) OOC for a reason; which is identified almost straight away. **

'I found something.' Hinata called, 'Over here' she heard Kankuro's slightly heavy footsteps somewhere to her left; they were looking for some lost possessions surrounding their shelter which Kankuro had identified the day before a go as "a cave, you twit! How can you not identify a cave? Honestly…" a statement to which Hinata had surprised both of them by giggling, lightly punching his arm and crying back "But WHERE is the cave?!" rather than shrinking away, going red and berating herself for being so stupid. Though she had only known the sand-nin for a week or so, there was something strangely relaxing about him- she had noticed on the way to the ambush (before things had gone ludicrously wrong) that he always spoke to everyone as though he'd known them for years- even strangers, and she was no exception. Even the way he moved was oddly comforting- with a graceful, well held confidence that seemed to say "yep. I have arguments with the Kazekage about who has to do the dishes, you gotta problem with that?"

He was cool. He was funny. He was _genuine_.

He shuffled to her side eventually (he was still recovering); face partially obscured by the shadows of dark clouds that were forming above them. It was a pretty area, on a clear day, like the day before, the sunlight reflected off the lighter coloured stones and minerals in the sides of the crevasse making it shimmer beautifully in the early morning and late afternoon light. On a clouded day, like today, mist and fog hung low in and over the crevasse, giving it a supernatural feel. Clumps of dark green grass littered the ground and walls, between which small animals like mice could be seen scurrying, Hinata could tell that there was a water source nearby, but as they had no need at that point, she hadn't bothered to look for it. Though she was worried, as they hadn't received a response to her distress call yet, she honestly thought, despite their situation, that she could have been quite content staying in this pretty area with Kankuro for some time.

'What is it?' Kankuro asked, bringing her back to her senses.

'My shoe.'

He snorted. 'Helpful shit, that Byakugan. Can't you see any food supplies?'

'Not within a day's travel. Which is about how far I can see; it really _is_ helpful, isn't it?' She was really starting to enjoy the man's company; she'd gone at least half a day without blushing or stuttering once. It was a relieving change.

He, on the other hand, seemed to take a funny turn every time she looked him straight in the eyes. She figured that her creepy dead-girl eyes must be a little nauseating for someone who'd just taken a kunai to the stomach and hadn't eaten any except food pills in three days. 'Jeez, sorry!' he raised his arms in mock defence. 'Are there any mushrooms or animals or something around here?'

'Animals?!' She started, 'I'd rather stick with the mushrooms.'

'You a vegetarian?'

'No. but I couldn't possibly kill any innocent little animals.'

He snorted again, 'Says the woman who, barely a day ago, sliced a man clean in half… and then saved his life…' he added in an undertone, smirking.

A raised eyebrow, 'that sound ninja was neither innocent, nor little. Animals are.'

'So you have no moral objection to cannibalism?'

She burst out laughing 'not moral, no.'

'A comforting thought.' He began to walk in the other direction, she followed a step or two behind, but this seemed to make him uncomfortable; he slowed his walking enough so that she was in step with him. 'I guess we'll settle for food pills, then.'

Hinata found his actions strange for two reasons; the first being that she was a Hyuuga, and they were about as Stone-Aged as you could get with regards to how women should act- and how women should act according to the Elders and her father was, in short, drippy, timid snivelling and useless unless she was in the kitchen (it was why her fiery, argumentative, bat-shit crazy mother was the least liked member of any clan, ever). The second reason was… well, she was _Hinata _as well as a Hyuuga; that was two kinds of timid. She was used to being ignored, pushed to the back either because she couldn't handle the situation or because she would only get in the way, even by people, like her team, who didn't mean to disrespect her in any way. So, even though she was the heir of the Hyuuga clan, she wasn't exactly seen as overly important, and people only treated her with respect on formal occasions. To be deliberately put on an even ground with a man of such high stature was a whole new experience, it amazed her and made her happy…

… So, of course, she did her best to ignore it. 'Hm…' she replied to him, acting, like him, as though nothing had happened and glancing up at the sky and feeling a few, small droplets of rain hit her cheeks and nose, 'we should head inside; it's starting to rain…- hey, what are you doing?'

He flashed a mischievous grin and wandered off towards the far wall of the crevasse, she watched the strange man in vague curiosity as he stopped and sat against a rock, face upturned.

'I love the rain' he chuckled,

She swallowed, there was something so sweet about the way he smiled every time a droplet hit his face, 'oh… really…'

He opened his eyes, blushing slightly and scratching the back of his neck as she made to kneel down beside him. 'We only get rain about once a year in Suna.'

'That must suck.' She murmured, 'I love it, too.'

After sitting a minute or so in comfortable silence, in which the rain began to pour rather than just drip, he stood, 'Sorry. Did you wanna go back inside?'

She nodded, shivering slightly, 'yes, it's a bit chilly- and… and YOU are still unwell!' she cried suddenly, 'come on!' she manoeuvred behind him and grabbed both of his upper arms, steering him physically towards their shelter. He jumped a little at the touch (a shinobi thing; none of them liked being touched, especially, so the rumours went, Suna ninja) and gave her a mildly offended look. Hinata knew perfectly well that Kankuro could take care of himself, but she had just spent a large chunk of her chakra piecing him back together. There was no way he was going to get an infection on top of this! 'Inside!' He shook her off and ran to their shelter, she ran after, laughing.

Once they were back inside the cave, Kankuro shook the water out of his hair, not in the manner she was used to seeing with Kiba, though; like a dog. More like a cat, she noticed, what with the way he stretched and ran one hand from the base of his neck through to his forehead… Hinata didn't really like her eyes, she thought they, frankly, looked terrifying, but one thing she did appreciate about her keen sight was that it gave her the ability to judge one's character quickly and easily simply by watching them move; take Kiba, he moved and acted (hell, he even _smelled_) like a dog; friendly, loyal, playful and generally open. Then there was Neji- he moved a bit like a wolf, and to say his personality was a _little_ wolf-like was the understatement of the century, wolves were proud, quiet, efficient and had a lonely, independent soul tinged with a caring pack mentality. The way Kankuro moved screamed of feline tendencies; slow and graceful and aloof and confident: he didn't need to prove himself to anyone if he didn't want to.

… not to mention he purred when he slept. Not snored. Purred.

_Well_, Hinata thought with a sigh, _that explains the cat hat_.

'Don't you find it exhilarating?' her head snapped back up, she'd been lost in thought for a while… she tended to do that…

'What?'

'The rain.'

'Oh… umm, relaxing would h-have been my choice of wording' she responded slowly, 'why exhilarating?'

He shrugged, 'Well… there's the cold… and the wind… when you stand in the rain… your teeth chatter and your muscles twitch and you're filled with this uncontrollable urge to just move. Run and keep running until you reach God Knows Where and –and… you know… when it rains back home I'll just sit outside or walk for hours on end… it's hilarious, really. Temari thinks I'm mental.'

How could he not worry about anyone watching him? He was the Kazekage's brother for god's sake! Kazekage siblings don't just… stroll through the rain! Hinata would have been stupidly embarrassed to do such a thing, 'Do you- do you even care what people think of you?' she asked incredulously, vigorously shaking her own hair to get the moisture out.

'Of course I care about what people think of me.' he answered, turning to look at her from where he was wringing out his shirt, 'But- that's just it. I care about what they think of ME. So I act like me.' she continued to look at him bemusedly 'if I didn't act like me, I wouldn't be worried about what people thought of me. I'd be worried about what they thought of whoever I was trying to be…' he trailed off, as if not entirely sure that what he'd said had made any sense at all- but to Hinata: it made all the sense in the world; 'yeah… I'm weird like that'

She suddenly wished she could be as straightforward as he, she had never felt such confidence... 'I wish I could be more like you…' she said wistfully

He looked up 'What? Insane?'

Hinata couldn't help but feel a little guilty; she'd failed to remember that his past was even more screwed up than hers. How could she have said something like that so carelessly? 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I know that things have been hard for you and your siblings- I mean because you are so… so confident and so… _you_… I would love to be more like that.'

'Don't worry about it. I wouldn't be me if it weren't for all the things that happened. And you wouldn't be you if it weren't for anything that's happened to you either. You can't change the past. I don't want your pity. And you shouldn't ask for anyone else's.'

She nodded and sat down cross legged in front of him, he mimicked her actions, 'I would still rather not be me.' she mumbled, touching her pointer fingers together.

He pried her fingers apart, forcing her to look at something else, namely him. 'I guess you're shy because of your family?'

She hadn't been aware that he was such an excellent judge of character; she supposed it must come from having no one but his siblings to trust for so long… 'How'd you guess?'

'Because my family's the reason I'm an overconfident, catlike ass.' She blinked, that was random. So he was aware of the cat thing… he shrugged, 'Ah, well… you can pick your friends, huh?'

'I suppose…'

'Hinata?'

'Yes?'

'Can I offer you a little piece of advice?'

'Sure… I guess…'

'Make sure you tell anyone you hate to stick it _before_ they kick it.'

'Why?'

'Because, it's the one thing I never had the guts to do.'

'Y-y… your father?'

'Yeah, him too…'

'Who else?'

He didn't answer her question, but he flinched. 'I really wish I'd had that chance.' His eyes held something more than just the playful, lazy and honest nature that she'd seen from him before, there was a lost kid hiding in that gaze; something beautiful and lonely and so reminiscent of the way she often felt that she discovered a sudden and unexplained protectiveness welled up inside her. She saw how the conversation was bothering him and hastily returned to the earlier subject.

'My- my clan expects so much of me…' she blurted 'I could never do that to them… I love my family, but I just wish they didn't- didn't put me up on this pedestal, you know? I wish they just loved me for me instead of pressuring me to be this- this perfect little person… And that's the really stupid thing! If I didn't have all this weight on my shoulders, I just know I'd be more like they want me to be… but then I wouldn't have to be, which is really, really stupid and…'

'You're rambling again.'

'Oh… sorry.'

'There's something else you want to say.' Not a question. A statement.

'Yes. You're right about the catlike thing. You purr.'

He grinned and ruffled her hair and she knew what had happened was the start of something special.

**A/N; I still hate this story……**


	3. Attractive

Kankuro noticed that Hinata had quite cleverly decided not to comment on the fact that he- despite being out of the sun, only

Kankuro noticed that Hinata had quite cleverly decided not to comment on the fact that he- despite being out of the sun, only around Hinata and not in battle- had his hood crammed onto his head as often as humanely possible. He would have even slept in it- but the headband was hard and made putting his head down awkward. He'd even refused to take off the residue of his purple kabuki paint- though there were only a few streaks down the sides of his face. He knew he looked ridiculous most of the time; but better to be ridiculed for his _chosen_ appearance than laughed at simply because that was the way he looked. Kankuro didn't quite understand what nature had against him, but it seemed determined to humiliate him: he didn't know anyone who looked weirder than he did- make up and cat hat or no, even Gaara didn't look like a- a- He couldn't really think of a fitting description. It was like Kankuro was his very own kind of ugly, "ew, that's so Kankuro…" it could be a saying in Suna very soon…

Kankuro figured the reason why Hinata hadn't yet asked about the paint and hood (even though they had been getting increasingly close over the past few days) had something to do with her sense of self-preservation, perhaps; the thought, the Byakugan was extra-sensitive to things like Kankuro's face… he didn't stop to think that it could be because Hinata had wanted him to feel comfortable around her- even if that meant having purple blobs on one's face- because that was the kind of person she was…

On top of the face paint complex that Kankuro had, she seemed to notice he had a… touching complex as well. He didn't like physical contact. Hell, he was contact-shy even for a Suna ninja. Though not quite as bad as Gaara; Kankuro was worlds away in that regard from his elder sister, whom he guessed had quite probably vowed to cuddle everything and everyone in the universe. He figured that all shinobi went through the touching complex, after all; being raised as a living, breathing weapon could do things to your mind…

'AHAHAHA! YES! BY THE ALMIGHTY JEBUS AND HIS GOPHER DESCIPLES! I DID IT!'

'Hinata? Are you… feeling alright?'

'Fire!' was his only response. It was three days on from their conversation about cannibalism and that comfortable-yet-awkward silence in the rain. He could see Hinata becoming more confident around him by the hour- and it was a wonderful feeling, he was so used to people being intimidated by his looks or his family…

'Congratulations; Hinata, Lord of the Flame.' He quipped and stood behind her, they hadn't needed a fire for the past six days, as the food pills had lasted them quite a while; but eventually things started to look desperate. He, being the man, had decided to go out on the hunt and return victoriously with a hearty meal slung over his shoulder. Naturally: things had played out completely differently; Hinata had ended up being the one to gather their meal (various fruits, berries and mushrooms from the surrounding area- and a rabbit which had had a broken leg when she found it and put it out of its misery) and, of course, light the fire, because he was too busy cutting up the food into bite sized proportions and cleaning out the cave- so very masculine- to even think about the fire.

If Kankuro was to be totally honest with himself; he wasn't sure he entirely minded the balance in roles that they had at the moment- he'd spent a little too long with Temari to think that women weren't as capable as men in every area; and if anyone dared suggest it to his sister, he was pretty sure they'd end up with a face full of Fan. Thus, both he and Gaara (and any other man that had the gall to cross Temari) had learned to fear, if not respect women… that is; if they commanded respect.

'Can you pass me the meat?' Now there was someone he respected. Her voice was back to its normal pitch and sweetness; it wasn't so much her voice or her demeanour or even her title that commanded respect. It was the way she endured and laughed and loved, it was the way she took everyone into special consideration, the pleading, quiet and gentle, yet so very _stubborn_ mannerisms. And that certain fierceness that he'd first noticed. She was a force to be reckoned with- she just didn't know it yet.

'Here.' Kankuro felt an odd swoop in his stomach when her hand accidentally brushed his; perhaps he wasn't feeling well enough to eat.

'Thanks'

'Um, yeah…' he fumbled with the next portion of food, pulling a face at her when she snorted at him for being so awkward.

'Attractive…'

He chuckled (almost… almost bitterly) 'Aren't I always?'

'You must pick all the ladies up with a face like that.' She giggled.

He laughed harder, 'Uh, huh. They all worship me. I'm like the Sasuke of Suna.'

She raised an eyebrow. After a long silence, she spoke up in an odd voice, 'Are you being sarcastic?'

'What? Well, duh!'

'No- it's just… you don't look in the mirror much… do you?'

Kankuro blanched, 'I try to avoid it. Isn't it bad luck to break 'em?' He muttered, blushing, why was she scrutinizing him like that? It was annoying- not to mention uncomfortable (though Gaara stared at him all the time, it wasn't the same, somehow).

'What?! K-Kankuro? You do know that you're… well, you're not exactly ugly. You do know that don't you?' she was busy cooking, so he couldn't read her expression.

Now he was really confused, 'Um, I don't normally worry about that sort of thing… 's not worth it… besides, you're just being nice…'

'No… Remember when the Kaze- your brother- was kidnapped? And Sakura saved your life… well, when she came back to Konoha; she sort of described what you looked like without the hat and stuff to us…'

'What do you mean by "sort of"?' Kankuro felt his cheeks getting redder by the second. He hated where this conversation was going. He was unattractive; just leave it at that!

'Well…' Hinata shifted to look at him, grinning awkwardly, 'her exact words were: "Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my freaking god. Uh… huhuhuhuhuhuh chyuhh.." and we all thought she was joking… she wasn't.'

Oddly, this didn't surprise him at all. He often found himself speechless when he saw his own face- but… not for the reason Hinata was implying. He was also mildly annoyed; Sakura wasn't a bad person, but she was supposed to be a healer, not Jiraiya's female equivalent! Hinata laughed at him.

'She said she only noticed that after she'd fixed you. If that's any consolation…' Kankuro smiled, looking intently at his shoes, she'd practically read his mind. She sighed, 'Your girlfriend must be missing you something chronic…'

Now he was confused _and_ horrified, 'What the hell are you on about?!'

'Your girlfriend…'

'What?! I don't- I mean… I never… uh… no. No girlfriend.'

'Sorry… I just picked you as the type to have a girlfriend…'

'Erm… no… why?' he asked uncomfortably.

'Oh… nothing. It's just… you've never seemed all that interested in any of the girls in Konoha… I thought you might have someone back in Suna…' She looked away again…

'Uh… nope. Never.' Both their eyes widened. Kankuro felt like bashing his head against a wall… he got the funny feeling he shouldn't have said that… but she was so- so clever and intuitive… he felt like he could tell her anything…

'Wait… y-y-you mean-!'

He shrugged, 'I was always wary of other people, you know, I was the Kazekage's son, and now I'm the Kazekage's brother. I'm always afraid that people are just going to use me, so I never bothered really… getting… attached… as… such…'

'You mean you've never…?'

'Never.'

'Ever…?'

'Ever.'

Hinata stared at him as though trying to gauge whether or not he was joking, he didn't know why the fact he'd never had sex- or even a girlfriend was so hard to believe, he had been kidding before, he was no Sasuke… it wasn't exactly like there was hundreds of women falling at his feet! In fact, most shinobi went their entire lives without getting into a relationship. It just wasn't worth it.

'Why…' she said slowly, he decided she was looking at him entirely too strangely.

He took a deep breath, 'I… I just don't like to be touched…' Granted: what he'd said had sounded normal enough, but it took a lot for him to say, and he was glad that she seemed to understand the hidden meaning in his statement… he didn't have to spell anything out to her.

Just like she didn't have to spell out the meaning in the renewed fierceness in her gaze, he loved the quiet strength she radiated… her expression right now was calm… and yet it was furiously yelling at him "name names now and I will do all in my power to disembowel them." he smiled despite himself, he didn't want to talk about it anymore…

She understood. She understood so much without him telling her- it was eerie, but comforting, he decided.

Kankuro's favourite saying was "What's done is done", and it was done; so he tactfully changed subjects 'What about you? Have you…'

'No.' she said shortly.

'Boyfriends?'

'One. Ages ago.' Whoo; snappy! It seemed that Kankuro wasn't the only one who was uncomfortable talking about his "love life"- if you could call it that.

Then he decided to ask That Question: the one question that no one should ask and yet everyone does, 'You have a crush on anyone?'

'Do I have a- a… hah…' she spluttered, 'you know. I do. I did, I mean. It got to a lot worse than a crush, actually.' He wasn't sure why she was telling him this, but then again, he wasn't sure why he'd told her about himself either, he'd never even told Temari… 'But you know what… I- I… saw… the way he looked at… at _her_…' and though she was giving him a pained smile, never had he heard so much bitterness in her voice, 'I don't know anymore… I'm, you know what? I'm giving up. I… ugh… I just give up.'

'Don't give up!' He had no idea who she was talking about, but giving up wasn't an option for anyone, in his opinion, 'may I ask… er, who?'

She gazed at him for a long moment, huffed, and whispered 'Naruto.'

He didn't know why he felt his heart sink to the bottom of his stomach at the thought of her loving the Kyuubi kid. Perhaps it was because he hated the idea of one of his friends suffering just because Naruto tended to be so blissfully, infuriatingly oblivious. Except where, well, where people like Sakura were concerned…

'Sakura?'

Hinata nodded, 'it's adorable, really. The way she treats him… I could never do that…' a bitter laugh.

'He doesn't hate you, you know.' Kankuro encouraged her, but; come to think of it, Naruto had never mentioned her before. Nobody really tended to mention Hinata (something Kankuro honestly couldn't fathom); he'd only known of her through being acquainted with Neji and Kiba.

'That's true…'

Kankuro didn't bother saying anything at that point; he knew she'd speak when she was ready.

'But- but I hate myself when I am around him.' Hinata said, voice growing smaller and smaller as she went on, 'I blush when he looks at me… and I shake when he speaks to me… and when he's to close… and this is truly stupid- but when he gets to close to me I- I just faint! He makes me so- nervous and- and –and I noticed him for ages and he barely takes any notice of me- it's really…'

'Rambling…' he warned softly, though he secretly loved it when she did so 'It sounds a lot like you love the moron.' Why did those words taste so strange?

'Is it worth it?' she asked no one in particular.

'Probably not.' He said easily, 'but why the Hell wouldn't you try, anyway? You've got nothing to lose.' That was true.

'Nothing… to… lose…' she seemed to weigh the idea. 'Y-You th-think I-I should just… s-spit it out? Tell him that I like him- love him- and h-hope for the best? I mean- if we see them ever again?'

'Yep! And we will, mark my words.' Kankuro nodded frantically, for some reason, he had the funny feeling that his brain would drop out and roll home without him if he stopped nodding... 'I… have to pee…' he murmured and stalked away quickly, leaving her alone for a moment.

Once out of her sight, he leaned against the cliff face and closed his eyes; this was stupid- what was wrong with him? Hinata… surely not! He knocked the back of his head against the rock, pulling his hood further down over his eyes for good measure. Why did he feel so giddy? Perhaps his wound was infected?

He blinked hard a few times and pushed himself off the wall, walking back to Hinata, he clapped his hands together, 'Right! Now we gotta formulate a plan! Operation Naruto-telly-about-feelings-… er, oh!'

He was almost horrified by how sweet she looked when she smiled.

**A/N: the middle part of this chapter nearly killed me…**

**HARK! The OOC bells are sounding!! OOC OOC OOC OOC!! WOOT! Yeah, Kankuro clues on to their chemistry a lot sooner than Hinata. I made it like that because he doesn't have an obvious complex for anyone (as far as I know)… **

**Believe me, the pacing of this story isn't as dismal as this chapter makes it seem. **


	4. Perfect

Hinata tossed in her sleeping bag; too distracted to sleep

Hinata tossed in her sleeping bag; too distracted to sleep. They hadn't yet received an answer to their distress call, and the silence was beginning to bug her. If Kankuro was completely recovered, she would have suggested they headed back to Suna or Konoha (whichever turned out to be closer) ages ago; but she didn't want to stress him too much. He could insist that he was fine til he was blue in the face, she wasn't going to listen.

She wasn't sure why she felt so protective of him. Perhaps it was because she'd already saved his life once; it would seriously bruise her ego if he was to go and die after all her effort. Some slightly saner little voice in her head told her that that wasn't really it- but Hinata had long since learned to shut out that little voice. She rolled over again to face the mouth of the cave, Kankuro was keeping watch for the first half of the night; she could see his solid form outlined against the starry sky and moonlit rock face before him. She couldn't help but smile when she saw him lean back on his hands and stare up at the stars; she didn't need Byakugan to know that he was smiling peacefully. Cats were most alert and happy at night time anyway…

Kankuro's company made this situation so much easier; it was far easier being around him when lost than, say, Neji. Though she loved her cousin, he could tend to make her feel a little useless and dimwitted from time to time… If she was stuck here with Naruto- things would have been ludicrously awkward.

She saw Kankuro yawn, and decided that, since she couldn't sleep; she would simply switch the sentry duty with him.

'K-Kankuro?' she half-crawled to his side, 'Did you want to have a sleep? I can't…'

'Huh? Why not?'

She shrugged in response, still kneeling awkwardly.

'To be honest; I don't think I could, either. I'd be missing out on all that.' He gestured upwards.

There was a great deal of things to be said, Hinata decided, for the wilderness: a lack of human corruption created such a serene atmosphere, a sense of freedom and peace. She looked up; thousands… no, millions of stars twinkled at her in greeting.

'Wow…' she breathed, deciding to get comfortable, she lay back with her knees up and her arms behind her head, staring at the sky.

A few seconds later he lay beside her; 'Y'know… Hinata- I was thinkin'…'

'Yeah?'

'I mean… we ought to stay in touch when this is all over… I don't think I've ever met anyone like you… wouldn't wanna lose you…'

'Nor you.' She agreed softly.

He shifted uncomfortably, rolling on his side and propping his head up on his elbow, '… I could help you with the Naruto plan!'

'I think that cause is beyond all help.' She responded without looking at him.

'Well, he is… but-' he began jokingly.

'You know what I meant. I… I just can't tell him… it's impossible… I start to shake whenever I'm near him- and I blush like crazy…'

'Creepy.'

'You have no idea! K-Kankuro… I've fainted because of him before… _several_ _times_!'

'What about a letter?'

'What?'

'You can't tell him in person… what about a letter?'

'The pen would shake too much…'

'I'll write it; you dictate!'

'Who's delivering it?'

'… Rock Lee? He's reliable!'

She snorted; she could already see his letter idea forming into a crazy scheme in his mind.

'Naruto would reject the letter. He loves Sakura.'

There was a short silence, '… so does Lee for that matter… and probably many others I've not known about.'

Kankuro stared at her 'Is she Miss Konoha or something?'

'You got it. She's perfect.'

'Perfect, now?' he asked in an amused tone.

'Well… I suppose nothing's really perfect… but she sure does come close…'

'Perfect is overrated. One of the best parts of life is being imperfect and knowing people love you anyway. Being imperfect is what makes someone so special… it's what makes _you_ so special…'

She blushed and turned to face him, he wasn't looking her in the eye. 'But…'

'Think about it. If everyone was perfect… well, it'd suck. If everyone was perfect, nobody would fall in love.'

'Why?'

'There'd be nothing different about anyone… we'd all be robots… how can you love something that's just like you?'

'… good point… I suppose what Naruto loves most about Sakura is the imperfections. Her violent mood swings, for one.'

He chuckled, 'Naruto's not perfect.'

'I know. He's too stubborn and... a little goofy, I guess…'

'Don't pretend that's not a part of him that you adore, though. Because I know you'd be lying.'

She nodded. 'And it works with friends, too. Shino… he- he's really sarcastic. It's kind of mean… but that's what makes him so funny…- in a Shino kind of way…'

Kankuro nodded encouragingly 'And what about Kiba, or Neji?'

'Kiba's easy, he's really sweet and s-supportive… but- he's not exactly the brightest penny in the fountain; that's a flaw… but if he was clever- he wouldn't be Kiba. A-and Neji… he's cold. You know he loves you if you're the only one that can tell that he loves you- if that makes any sense…'

'I get what you mean. Temari and I are probably the only two people in the world that can tell if Gaara finds something funny or cute or whatever…'

'I- I don't mean this to sound rude or anything- but has your brother ever laughed?'

'Of course he laughs! People never seem to get that- he's a person, just like you or me; his quirks are just a helluva lot more obvious than others. People laugh, people get annoyed, people go to the toilet, people get bored and hyper and sad and sleepy... Gaara's a person, he does all that too. Though… his laugh is so quiet… it's kind of like a… snuffle.'

Try as she might; Hinata simply couldn't picture the Kazekage _snuffling_.

'You're right…' she said, 'About everything… if people were perfect, nothing about them would be interesting or worth knowing… I guess you could say that everyone is perfect in their own way- because there isn't anyone else like them… you know…you're the perfect you… Sakura's the perfect Sakura… Gaara's the perfect Gaara… I'm rambling…'

'And if you didn't ramble, you wouldn't be the perfect you…'

A comfortable silence fell; in which Hinata comfortably observed the stars in their chilling, infinite glory. She had failed to notice the point when she'd moved to rest her head on Kankuro's stomach- she wasn't the slightest bit aware of the fact he was stroking her hair, much less aware of the way he was staring at her.

He was gazing at her as though the night sky could be handed to him in a spun glass box and pale in comparison to her.

As she finally fell asleep, Kankuro found he was deeply concerned that he had, in fact, found perfection- for himself at least.

He'd been driving himself insane over Hinata for the past couple of days, more or less since he'd found out about her affections for Naruto; the more he thought about it, the more questions started chipping away at the back of his mind.

He decided to face the cold hard facts head on; he was a teenage boy and Hinata was likely the only female human for miles around. Yes, he told himself; that had to be it. Whatever was going wrong with his brain; this ridiculous trust he had in her, this stupid idea that someone might actually understand him, this sudden desire to be Naruto- it would pass. It had to pass…

…Because he didn't think he could survive if it didn't…

**A/N: AUGGHHHH!! stabs this chapter repeatedly for starters… I, after fifteen (or sixteen?) alerts, thought that I would grow fonder of this story… I didn't. It will be finished. But- this one was a killer; sorry about it taking me so long, but this hunk of junk took me all that time. The last paragraph and the few wise lines on perfection are my only beacons of hope in this dark, dark place- **

**IN CASE ANYONE IS OFFENDED OR UPSET: The ideals and opinions expressed by the characters in this story are entirely my own. I don't need you to agree or disagree, they're my opinions.**

**The next chapter (is also shit) but also half-written already. Expect a slightly faster update- if you're still following this thing.**


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, Kankuro gingerly shifted a still sleeping Hinata from his arms, _he'd_ been awake the entire night, but Hinata's dead weight had caused both his arms to fall into a coma. He shuffled around in an idiotic dance to make himself more alert, flapped his arms and spun in a circle for a minute or so.

A giggle from behind him told him he was no longer alone. He blushed. 'Morning!'

'Good morning, 'Kuro' Hinata greeted him.

'Kuro… it was the first time she had used his nickname. Something had changed.

'Sleep well?'

'Yes, unlike you.'

'I'm fine.'

'You look terrible.'

Something had really changed. Hinata would never dare to say that to anyone normally…

'Something wrong?'

She smiled cheekily, glancing over her shoulder at him as she walked back inside, 'No, nothing at all…'

'No, seriously. You're acting weirder than Gaara when he first heard that glass was made of sand, and he tried to move our drinking glasses for days by just glaring at them… ' he chuckled, following her inside.

Where he was snatched from behind.

'GOTCHA!'

A loud booming voice echoed through the cave, Kankuro gasped, whipping out a kunai.

'Naruto?!' he gasped as Hinata, to his left, giggled softly.

'Heh, you were so fooled!' Naruto exclaimed 'Nice to see you're both in one piece.'

'Oh, god…KANKURO!' To add to and possibly complete his shock, Temari tore into the cave past Naruto and wrapped Kankuro in a bear-hug. To his shock, Gaara followed slowly behind, hugging Kankuro quickly as well- to anyone who didn't know the redhead, it would have seemed as though it didn't bother him whether his elder brother was alive or not. But Kankuro did know Gaara- and Gaara had just hugged him…

'God, didn't know I'd be that badly missed!'

Even Neji was ecstatic- in Neji terms- to see that his little cousin was alright. His greeting to Hinata was somewhere in between Temari's ridiculous behaviour for a ninja and Gaara's all-too-stoic hello. 'Hinata…'

'Neji. I was so worried!' Hinata stopped herself as footsteps were heard and the remainder of the old team piled into the cave, wearing a few cuts and bruises along with the occasional broken limb (Lee overdid it again), but otherwise all alive and unharmed 'You- you're all okay, thank god.'

'Don't know how we all managed it, to be honest.' Temari sighed, 'But tell us your story first.'

'N-n-nothing really interesting…" Hinata stammered quickly, Kankuro saw her shift under everyone's gaze. There were too many people in this place for her to handle.

He chuckled softly 'Nothing interesting? This tiny midget over here saved my sorry ass! She dragged me here after the battle and we've been hiding out here since.'

'Wh-what about y-you guys?' Hinata asked, trying to change the subject as soon as possible.

'Well, as you can see; Gaara's joined us. It turns out the group of Sound nins in this area is at quite an impressive number.'

'It was bad enough for Tsunade and me to be sent to a safe-station a few kilometres west of here' Gaara explained 'To sort out the situation first-hand. When I discovered that you two were missing, I formed a search party from the initial squadron that was sent here- there were no casualties.' He added smoothly as Kankuro strained to make absolutely sure that everyone from their group was still there.

'Now that we have found you, and we are all unharmed. We'll leave tomorrow morning for Suna.'

Kankuro nodded; alarmed by Gaara's sudden and irrational decision to send out such a huge and powerful search party just for the two of them. He must have been quite shaken. 'Well, we're all okay.' He said, mostly for his siblings' benefit.

Temari punched him in the arm and Gaara managed a small smile.

'A-a-any sign of the gang that we faced? D-did you h-hit a-any snags?' Hinata asked Gaara, Kankuro felt his affections for her gush forward at the simple question; normally people he knew only spoke to Gaara if he spoke to them, the fear of the monster his brother once was still bubbling beneath the surface and creating a barrier between the Kazekage and most who knew him- but Hinata had spoken to Gaara as another human, a human to be respected, but also as though she knew nothing of his past, or simply didn't think it mattered.

Along with affection, Kankuro felt a surge of dismay. Hinata was truly perfect. And so far beyond his grasp it hurt to think about- he shuffled his feet as Gaara answered, not with a simple "No.", as he normally would, but with a detailed explanation of their possible locations; he could tell that his brother was also impressed with her. He slumped a little, annoyed and defeated in one regard; but still overjoyed at being reunited with everyone…

He should have, but he didn't notice Temari's quick eyes dart from himself to Hinata and light up with big-sister-style evil.

A few hours of overenthusiastic (for ninja, that is) reconciliations later, Kankuro and Hinata were arguing quietly.

'Come on Hinata! Don't chicken out on me now!' Kankuro prodded her arm, 'You've gotta tell him! For me- it's... uh... it's my birthday soon!' he pleaded, praying he sounded convincing; though his heart wasn't in it in the slightest.

'Uhhh…'

'Please?'

'But-'

'I'm not taking no for an answer.'

She must have bought his acting; 'Okay! Fine!' she giggled (he cringed, her smile was making this so much harder…) 'After dinner.'

'Swear it!'

'I swear!' Hinata paused for a moment, eyes narrowing, 'Are you okay, Kankuro?' she asked suspiciously. 'You seem a little off…'

He flinched, but hastily recovered, 'I'll be happy so long as you are, you mad cannibal.'

'Are you _sure_ you're okay?'

'I'm FINE!' He cried, 'Go on! Get outta here!' he laughed, she poked her tongue out and wandered in the direction of the campfire where Akamaru was performing tricks for scraps of food, (Kiba was furious that the dog was getting all the attention). A small cough and a shuffling noise told him that his sister was approaching.

'Hey 'Mari…'

Temari placed a hand on the wall next to his head and leaned casually beside him, evil big-sister smirk in place, 'A Hyuuga, huh? I suppose they're mental enough for us… though we'll have to toughen that one up…'

'I don't know what you're talking about.'

'Really? I could have sworn you just said to Hinata- and I quote: "I'll be happy so long as you are." A very interesting thing to say to someone you just met. I must admit; I'm not overly enthusiastic about the whole falling in love in approximately a week thing, but it's your life. Now, why haven't you asked her out yet?'

'She's…'

'Sweet; adorable; kind; not frightened of you (god knows why not) and there's something interesting and special and… fierce- about her that draws you in.'

Kankuro blinked, she knew him way too well…

'And you know what else? You saw the way she adored Naruto- so you completely forgot about yourself; like you, contrary to popular belief, always do- shut up!' she halted his stammered protests that he was the most selfish person since the word selfish was invented, 'and you encouraged her to be happy while you float around in the background'

'What are you getting at?' he said, expression darkening, though he was still mildly amused at the fact that his completely anti-falling-in-love sister was being such a romantic.

'You didn't let me finish. It's because you don't think you DESERVE someone like her- so you just wanna make her happy. You. Love. Hinata.'

Kankuro pushed off the wall and glared at his sister 'You'll tell no one. Got it?'

'Why?' she laughed in the face of his pseudo-threat.

'Just don't.'

'Not until you give me a good reason.'

'Because… it'll just- I'll just… if she finds out: it'll end badly.' Kankuro's speech was reminding himself strongly of the girl they were discussing 'I- we've all lost so much-… and she adores him… I don't want to hurt anymore … surely you understand…'

If Temari wasn't a tough-ass near-psychotic bitch: she would have listened to him. She would have understood perfectly, even felt saddened by their past and how badly it had affected her brother. She would have respected his sense of self-preservation and let it lie. She would have hugged her little brother and told him "there's plenty more fish in the sea."

But Temari _was _a tough-ass near-psychotic bitch… so of course the first thing she did was walk away from her brother with a curt nod and make a beeline for Hinata, who was sitting by herself, watching Naruto nervously from a distance, practicing what she was going to say to him.

'Naruto- I've got something to tell you- I… ugh- what do I say?!'

'Hey, Hinata!'

She started, 'Oh, h-hello Temari…'


	6. Chapter 6

'So…' the blonde began; honestly having no idea where to begin- she waved her arms around experimentally, searching for the words, 'You and my brother seemed to…. You like…. Well, you haven't killed one another, how did you contain yourself?'

Hinata giggled timidly for a moment, before noticing Temari's utterly straight face. 'W-well, uh… he's, he's lovely… I mean, he really knows what to say when someone's upset and- and he's always calm and…'

'When we were growing up it was all No Sudden Movements in our house, he has to stay calm' Temari joked in that way, Hinata had noticed, her brother did too- satirical, dry, and not wanting of pity.

'It must have been hard…'

'Hm…' Temari thought out her next statement very carefully, 'I just want him to be happy now.'

'Y-yes'. Hinata agreed, 'y-you all d-deserve it' she blushed, 'you're all so brave.'

'You think so, huh?' the fan wielder said, caught a little off guard, 'Kankuro thinks you're the toughest little thing around.'

'No…'

'He loves your company, says he could talk to you all day.' She replied, somewhat slyly.

'W-well, he- he sort of had to…' Hinata said, more to herself than her companion. Temari noted, she would have to beat all that uncertainty out of the Hyuuga before she became a part of Temari's family. Uncertainty just wasn't allowed.

'Can I ask, Hinata, about what you were saying to yourself before? Something about Naruto…'

Hinata started, she clearly hadn't thought Temari had heard her. 'I- it's nothing really. Just…'

'You love him, don't you?' Temari got her response in the several shades of red on Hinata's cheeks.

'Yes.' she whispered meekly.

'Do you want to?'

'No.'

Temari's expression softened, she gazed at the smaller girl with something akin to pity. 'Sucks, huh?'

A nod. 'I-I think I'd be okay… though, if we were never together.'

'What? Why?'

'Just knowing he is alive and happy would mean the world. I could go on living my life so long as he did.'

'So…' Temari's brain was going into evil-older-sister overload at this information; 'How would you feel if he was… in love with, say, Sakura?'

'Well… I suppose… if Naruto was happy with Sakura… then I'd be happy just knowing that he…- that… he…'

Temari looked at her expectantly. Slowly, ever so slowly, something seemed to dawn in Hinata's eyes, the realization mingled quickly with embarrassment, then sweet appreciation, then humour… then… complete outrage…

'THE IDIOT!' Hinata shrieked, 'What if Naruto had said "yes"?! What if… oh, the IDIOT!'

She stood quickly and tore off, forgetting Temari; who simply crossed her arms and leaned back. 'Job well done, Temari.' She applauded herself. Not that she had needed to do much after all.

Hinata tore back to the cave where Kankuro was chattering away to Shino and Kiba, as soon as he saw Hinata, though, he had eyes for only her- and his expression- how had she not noticed that before?! 'K-Kankuro! I-' she felt a small displacement of air-

'HINATA! LOOK OUT!' Neji appeared from nowhere and shouldered her to the side, she quickly spun, activating her Byakugan on reflex. Neji was locked in heavy battle with whatever had just appeared…

… sound…

Ten, at least, racing towards them and God knows how many hiding in the shadows.

'Go Akamaru!' Hinata heard a bark and then a loud rustling as Kiba and Shino leapt into action, somewhere in the distance, rubble was clearing from where Sakura had joined the fray, and judging by the way shinobi kept crumbling under sudden flashes of sand and something green; Gaara and Lee's amazing teamwork was laying waste to many of them. Then she heard a swish and a faint clicking sound. She smiled. Kankuro. She used her excellent vision to her advantage and half-watched him while she was locked in battle…

But barely two seconds later there was the glint of a kunai edge and Kankuro gave a short cry; then dropped to his knees. Hinata nearly lost her life to the ninja she was facing off with. Not now! She couldn't lose him now! He had to know that she knew- that she loved him! The sound ninja who'd snuck in behind him at close range stood over him as he clung to his stomach, panting in pain and sinking to the ground, 'Didn't I kill you before?' he hissed- and moved in to finish the job.

Hinata snapped.

They never knew what hit them.

**For those who are still actually reading this story: I AM SO SORRY!! **

**This took me forever! But I have my reasons; first, my computer crashed and I haven't been able to even look at it for five months, second, I am very nearly in love- and therefore felt compelled to review some of the ideals expressed in this fic (mostly the happy-without-them thing)**

**I know this chappie's not the best. I hope you all enjoy it anyway. And believe me, the updates will be faster!**


	7. Chapter 7

Neji was amazed. Never had he seen Hinata kill with such brutal efficiency. She weaved through the enemy like water, tearing through them like lightning. It was incredible. Neji couldn't help but notice, though, that her new attitude and efficiency had been triggered by the injury of a certain sand-nin. Kankuro was propped up against the far wall, clutching at his heavily bleeding side, still making an attempt to fend off the last of the sound ninja surrounding him until Sakura and Hinata killed the majority of them each with a single, devastating blow (as calmly as they brushed away the hair in their eyes) and Sakura began tending to his wound. Neji leapt into the scene just in time to knock back what would have been a fatal blow to both the medic and the puppeteer while Hinata, seemingly assured that the puppeteer was safe, swept off to join Shino and Naruto with wiping out the dregs. Kankuro slid to the floor as he stared after her. Sakura hissed impatiently at him to sit still.

Neji thought he vaguely heard Naruto yelling 'Yeah! That's what you get for messing with the future hokag- woah! Where did Hinata come from?!' before he turned to Kankuro.

'What. Precisely. Is your relationship with Hinata?'

'Is this _really _the time?!' Sakura cried incredulously.

It wasn't that Neji thought their being together was a _bad_ idea necessarily. It was just that… that he didn't think that Hinata could cope with a slightly-insane, sadistic puppeteer for a husband and an overbearing nutjob for a sister-in-law. He wasn't even going to think about Gaara. 'I think so.' Neji shot back, breaking an attacker's neck with ease whilst glancing back at Kankuro.

'I love her.' He said simply and without any hint of embarrassment, but with an odd sense of sadness. Neji had the funny feeling that Kankuro was only so calm about this because… because he thought he was going to die… Neji prayed he didn't. Almost as hard as he prayed that he would live to see another day with Sound breathing down their necks. (Harder still he prayed that the lack-of-eyebrow thing was Gaara-specific. A band of tiny Hyuugas roaming around with both Byakugan and a total lack of eyebrows would give the critters a permanently surprised look…)

A faint shout was heard before Hinata raced back to Kankuro's side, 'a-a-are you okay?'

'Kankuro!' Temari cried in horror. Gaara arrived and visibly stiffened at the sight of his brother, unwilling… unable to hide his shock and concern.

'Settle, Temari.' Sakura sighed.

'Cripes, what the hell have you done to yourself, man?'

'Naruto. Stop being you for a moment… please?' Sakura sighed again.

'Fuck...' Kiba said simply, clearly worried.

'Shut up… _all of you_!!' Sakura's commanding bellow silenced even the dying sound ninja lying scattered around them; she took a calming breath 'I have to concentrate.' She focused her chakra and began tending to the wound; as her hisses of wildly colourful phrases began to sound more like whispered prayers, Neji felt his insides go cold.

'H-hinata.'

'Kankuro. Don't you start yakking!'

'I- I meant to tell you- but- but then… agh! Watch it…' He laughed half-heartedly at Sakura, who ignored him. 'You… I…'

Neji huffed, this was going to take a while; Neji would die before Kankuro managed to spit it out.

'I know.' Hinata whispered, she was crying…

'Oh…'

Kankuro looked a little crestfallen, til she murmured, 'Me too…'

He smiled and closed his eyes.

**123456789012345678901234567890**

Neji was pacing outside the shelter. Hinata was standing to one side, watching him with an eerily calm expression. All save for Kankuro had been either patched up already, or were nursing minor injuries themselves. Sakura was still inside with the puppeteer; she had sent them all outside half an hour ago so that she could better concentrate. While Neji paced, he formulated the questions he would shoot at Hinata- inwardly berating her for her thoughtlessness; clan heirs weren't given the privilege to marry for love.

Neji reached the end of his pacing track to the left of the cave entrance, Temari and Gaara were both sitting against the rock wall, Gaara moodily hugging his knees, Temari with her head against her youngest brother's shoulder; the fan-wielder had made a half-hearted attempt to cheer up Gaara fifteen minutes before; but upon hearing Sakura's curses grow gradually louder and more vehement, she had fallen into a similar mood to the Kazekage and was staring into space like she was unaware of anyone else's presence. Lee was flitting pointlessly between the two, trying to encourage them to talk. To his right, a subdued Kiba was speaking softly to Shino; the others were watching the silent rampage that Neji was having, distracting themselves by watching him wear a hole into the dirt.

'You realize that he hates children.' Neji burst out suddenly, rounding on Hinata.

'Neji…' Tenten tried to silence him by placing a hand his arm, he shrugged her off.

'And that he lives- and needs to continue living in another village.'

'Neji-' Lee stared reprovingly at his rival from where he was holding a one-sided conversation with Temari and Gaara- (Neji had ignored the fact that they were staring intently at him- listless rage burning in their eyes), '-now is not the time.'

'You have your responsibilities with the clan to think of.' He ploughed on.

'Neji! Come on!' Naruto shouted, jumping to his feet.

'Leave it, Naruto.' Hinata said, silencing the blond, 'Neji; I did realize that he hates children and, frankly, I can live with that. As with living in another village… well, I suppose that ties in with my responsibilities, doesn't it? Because I think that it's high time I began to think about something _other_ than my responsibilities. I. Love. Him. Nothing… no one is going to stop me from being with him. It's that simple. I'm sick of pleasing everyone, if my father doesn't like it; if you don't like it: you can find someone else to be the heir. If that's the way that things have to be, then I'm done with it all.'

Neji stared at her. He had expected Hinata to begin crying- indecisiveness and meekness overruling her self-control, he had expected her to back down, stay silent and do what the clan wanted her to; he had not expected her to turn around and do the very thing he had always wished to do: tell the Hyuuga clan to stick it. This man- this Kankuro had unwittingly changed her in so many ways- good ways, she was still Hinata; but this- this Hinata was brave and controlled and strong. She'd found something that fell beyond her grasp and somehow taken it for herself anyway; and she was keeping this prize- no matter what anyone said. Not Neji, not Hiashi, not even Naruto was going to take her prize away.

Neji felt his throat constrict, not with displeasure or anger or even jealousy, but with pride in Hinata. He nodded slowly. 'Then I wish you the best.'

They smiled at one another in understanding. Neji had been testing her. Their faces simultaneously split into grins as Naruto muttered 'It doesn't take much to change your mind, mate.'

Hinata stood as Sakura exited the cave, wiping an alarming amount of blood on a small towel. She was looking at the ground. Neji stiffened, unable to read her expression.

'I-I is he-'

Sakura looked up, a grin splitting her features; 'Hinata. I believe he wants to speak with you first.'

She was gone in a flash.

**12345678901234567890**

'Kankuro!' Hinata cried as she walked up to him. He was lying down, head propped up by someone's jacket, his skin was pale and he was clearly unable to move without agonizing pain.

Despite this, the puppeteer called back 'Hi there!' cheerily, albeit tiredly. She frowned at him.

'You should be sleeping, you know.' she said, kneeling beside him.

'Yeah, I should…' he scratched the back of his neck nervously, 'I just… had to tell you… that, er, well… what I said before; I meant it… and…' he trailed off awkwardly.

'So did I.' Hinata smiled, leaning down and kissing his cheek (to whence the previously lacking colour rushed).

'So…'

'S-So…' she parroted. An adorably bashful grin slowly creeping across her features.

'You know what?' He said, rambling just like she had done most of their time together… 'I- I just… when I look at you and when you speak and you smile… it's like my whole universe and everything good in it… all in one big rush… I never expected anything like this.'

She leaned forward again, this time boldly capturing his lips.

When they pulled apart, Kankuro chuckled, 'But I'm sure as hell not complaining…'

Hinata thought she could vaguely hear the sounds of Temari cackling evilly in the background.

**I must be mad… I'll tell you why. I'm very possibly considering doing a (slightly less serious) sequel to this… or at least extending it. What do y'all think?**

**Reviews are love!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Epilogue:**

**One month later.**

'I don't think Hiashi took that too well…' Kankuro murmured; shuffling his feet as Hinata hugged Neji and her team goodbye; they were both heading to a tourist village for a fortnight. Gaara and Tsunade (both being in uncharacteristically generous and possibly mischievous moods) insisted they both go on "recovery leave". Tsunade had been grinning the entire time she explained that they only had a one bed suite left in the hotel that they were to stay (Hinata was fascinatingly red throughout the Hokage's rather insincere apologies), and Kankuro could have sworn he heard Gaara… Gaara; the infamous former homicidal maniac, his younger brother, the Kazekage, say "you kids have fun, now".

'He'll grow up and get over it.' Hinata said airily, Kankuro stared at her, Neji snorted. Hinata's father had definitely not taken the news of her impromptu engagement to Kankuro (he was even more horrified to learn that _she_ was the one who proposed) overly well. In fact, he'd shouted himself hoarse.

Neji had laughed himself silly throughout watching the scene. He was so used to Hinata bursting into tears when Hiashi even looked at her the wrong way. It was a truly special experience to witness his cousin watch her father bellow at her for a solid hour with a completely apathetic expression. By the end of the ordeal, he and Hanabi were leaning on each other for support, tears streaming down their faces, still giggling like schoolgirls.

Hanabi had hi-fived Kankuro several times for his ability to stay standing when Hiashi turned to him and began shouting (though he didn't have to do much. The instant her father turned to Kankuro, Hinata's expression had darkened and Hiashi had become quite terrified- backing off sooner than expected).

'Well, maybe he won't get over it… but he _will _survive.' Hinata sighed, taking Kankuro's hand. 'I'm not giving you up for the world.'

**Well… that's it! It's all over, done and dusted- my second-ever multi-chapter finished fic! Thank you to everyone who read this and an especial thankyou to all who reviewed. I hope you liked this more than I did!**

**And if (beware of shameless plug) anybody's keen to read more of my poorly written excuses for romance, go check out Liar, Liar- I'm actually fond of that one… which guarantees that it will be unpopular…-haha.**

**END**


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